National Library now operational |22 December 2023

By Sunny Esparon

The public can now access services offered by the Seychelles National Library after it became operational yesterday, six months after its official re-opening in June.

The ribbon cutting was performed by First Lady, Linda Ramkalawan and the secretary general of the Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts, David Andre.

When addressing the guests, Mr Andre highlighted the number of services on offer such as internet, National collections of publications, reading promotion activities and ISBN/ISSN services, alongside the traditional services such as borrowing of books, which include both hard copies and e-books.

“These new facilities are available for free while others are at a fee to help contribute to the maintenance costs. These include rooms for group discussions, meetings, conferences, IT training and multipurpose activities, as well as spaces for private tutoring and exhibitions.”

With the intention to ensure access to all, including those with physical challenges, lifts have been installed to facilitate movements to the first and second floors including the conference room in the south tower of the building, said Mr Andre.

He said the newly renovated infrastructure will be more than just a National Library that provides resources, references, research and books, but rather a vibrant, open and collaborative space, creating new possibilities to support learning and provide a window to Seychelles, past, present and future.

Mr Andre added that encouraging and promoting a reading culture is of strategic importance to the socio-economic growth and development of the country.

“A culture of reading will contribute significantly towards a lifelong desire to learn and to develop oneself intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and culturally,” he stated.

Following the opening, guests were able to tour the building and get a glimpse of all the services on offer. The ceremony also featured performances of Christmas songs by the all-boys choir from Plaisance primary school.

The National Library officially re-opened on June 29, this year after being closed down for five years due to widespread fungus infestation. It followed 17 months of extensive renovation work by the Green Island Construction Company.

The accompanying photos show some highlights of the ceremony yesterday.

Photos by Kurtrine Albert